Latest news with #LannyHartmann
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Maryland begins first-ever inspection program for EV chargers
An EV charger in Columbia is tagged by the Maryland Department of Agriculture with a "Stop-use warning." (Photo courtesy Lanny Hartmann) The little-known team of 18 Maryland Department of Agriculture inspectors that typically checks equipment such as gas pumps and grocery store scales for accuracy has a new target: electric vehicle chargers. In recent weeks, the department has begun dispatching the 'weights and measures' inspectors to public EV charging stations around the state for the first time, including some inspections that were in response to customer complaints, said Alison Wilkinson, the agency's chief of weights and measures. It might come as a relief for EV drivers, including Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks, who said he sometimes struggles to find reliable chargers for his state-issued electric car. 'It's become more important, obviously, as I can't get back from someplace, because I go to three different places, and I spend an hour sitting there … And it's not charging,' Atticks said in a recent interview. Wilkinson said the weights and measures team won't police chargers for their 'uptime,' or how often they work for motorists, instead making sure that each charger gives an accurate accounting of the electricity it is dispensing, and charges consumers accordingly. But if an inspector visits an inoperable charger, Wilkinson said her agency would take action, notifying the operator and requiring fixes. 'We do not oversee uptime. That does not fall under Weights and Measures authority. However, under Weights and Measures authority, it does specify that the device owner is required by Maryland law to maintain their devices in an accurate working state for the consumer,' Wilkinson said. Already, inspectors have temporarily shut down a 'handful' of EV chargers for violations, Wilkinson said, mostly for illegally charging customers by the hour, rather than by kilowatt-hour, potentially penalizing customers for slower charging. Moore issues executive order that could delay EV sales penalties The inspection program comes as the electric vehicle industry faces an uncertain future, with the new presidential administration reneging on support for EVs and rescinding significant funding for charging infrastructure, including the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula program, which was expected to fund dozens of chargers along highways in Maryland. 'The industry as a whole is facing strong headwinds coming out of Washington, D.C., so it does pose a question for a state like Maryland that has bold EV goals,' said Josh Cohen, head of policy for SWTCH charging company. 'Is now the time to impose unwieldy regulations on chargers while the industry is still just getting off the ground?' But some legislators say the problem is significant enough to warrant inspections. Aside from Tesla chargers, which have a reputation for reliability, 'the record is not tremendous,' said state Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County). That frustrates existing EV drivers and could stymie future purchases, all while the state is trying to encourage EV purchases to meet climate goals, she said. 'The last thing we want is for people who have made the investment in an EV to throw up their hands and go back to a gas guzzler,' Hettleman said. She introduced Senate Bill 913, that would have codified the Agriculture Department's authority to inspect EV chargers and called on it to develop and enforce new reliability requirements for chargers, which would have to be operational about 97% of the time. The bill failed, in part because it had a high cost of implementation during an incredibly tight year for the state budget. But the Agriculture Department determined that it could begin inspections without a new law, using its existing authority over weights and measures. That's because the department follows a national weights and measures policy — the National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 44 — that has already been updated to include assessments for EV chargers. Lanny Hartmann, a Maryland EV driver and blogger focused on charging, participated in a survey of charging infrastructure around the state in late 2024 and early 2025. It found that about half of the state's chargers were owned by electric vehicle manufacturers Tesla and Rivian, and those ports were 99% operational. But the remaining chargers were inoperable 31% of the time, Hartmann said in testimony on Hettleman's bill. He said many of those chargers are funded by public dollars, or were installed by electric utilities using ratepayer funds, under a program run by the Maryland Public Service Commission that is currently under evaluation. But Hartmann said he is 'not convinced that the solution is to appoint the government as the EV charging station police.' He worries that if the state places new inspection costs on charging companies, that cost would be passed onto consumers. 'Every penny that the price goes up … adds up, and there's already been a disturbing trend of the price of public charging creeping up,' Hartmann said. The Agriculture Department in January began registering service technicians, who install, repair and calibrate EV chargers. The registration fee is $200 per agency, $50 per technician and an additional $25 for a required test. The department will begin requiring registrations for every consumer-facing charging device next, Wilkinson said, with regulations being drafted now that could take effect this fall or winter. She said costs of the program will be covered by annual registration fees, which haven't been determined yet. The cost per device will depend on 'the amount of time and effort that would be put into it,' the number of workers needed and the overall cost of equipment for the program, Wilkinson said. In order to conduct the inspections, the department still needs to purchase large testing equipment known as a standard. Each machine costs more than $100,000, and the department will also need vehicles to transport them, and training for staff, Wilkinson said. She said the department will likely need two or three more staff members to handle the EV charger inspections. The state will be aiming to visit all Maryland chargers every few years. Inspecting EV chargers could present challenges that inspecting gas pumps don't, Wilkinson said. Unlike gas stations, some EV charging stations are inside parking garages, meaning inspectors might have to pay just to access them. Then, they will need to pay for the power at each station — at a gas station, inspectors can just return any fuel they pump without incurring a charge, Wilkinson said. And slower EV chargers might be in use for hours at a time, increasing the chances that inspectors would have to leave and return later for testing. 'We have a pretty good idea how we're going to move forward, but there will still be some hurdles to address along the way, just as there is with any new emerging technology,' Wilkinson said. Cohen, of SWTCH, said his company supports the meter accuracy rules, but that states must enforce those rules thoughtfully, or risk placing onerous requirements on a nascent industry. He added that he hasn't seen much evidence that there are wide-scale problems with electric meter inaccuracy on chargers. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE 'You could potentially have chargers being tagged by a field inspector as being out of service, just based on some network glitch that is able to be remotely fixed, and then require a field inspector to go back out again to retest it,' Cohen said. 'It's all needless delays and downtime for chargers that drivers are trying to charge at.' In mid-April, Hartmann said he found a charger in Columbia blocked off by signs stating it had been 'condemned' by the Agriculture Department. This week, the charger was still closed. When it comes to EV charger reliability, Cohen said he sees a need for 'more carrots and less sticks.' He thinks that charger manufacturers have an intrinsic motivation to keep their chargers running, and compete with titans like Tesla. 'I understand that legislators are responding to constituent frustration about some chargers that don't provide the experience that we want them to,' Cohen said. 'The industry itself is evolving, and competing to improve its products and services and address those concerns.' State legislators said they plan to return to the drawing board next year — and they have a plan for trimming the bill's fiscal note. This year's bill called for a website that would publish chargers' functionality in real time, which added a $2 million cost to the bill's fiscal note. Hettleman said that database was 'aspirational,' and may not be included when the bill is revived for the next legislative session. Del. Nick Allen (D- Baltimore County), who sponsored a companion bill to Hettleman's in the House, said he's optimistic that an amended bill would pass next session, particularly given the importance of EV adoption for the state's climate goals. 'Right now, it's kind of a Wild West,' Allen said. 'If we want to reach our goals of so many zero-emission vehicles being sold in Maryland — if we want to reach all these ambitious climate and emissions related goals, we need to make sure that when people pull off to charge their EV they have the same confidence that they do pulling into a gas station.'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Time to pull the plug on utility-run EV charger program
A survey by private group of electric vehidle enthusiasts found recently that charger reliabilty was a mixed bag, from 99.6% operable ports at Tesla charging staions to just 33% for BGE stations, and 31% for Delmarva Power. (Photo by Lanny Hartmann) In 2023, Gov. Wes Moore joined Maryland to California's Advanced Clean Cars II program, pledging to slash greenhouse gas emissions by phasing out gasoline vehicle sales by 2035. Barely two years later, he signed an executive order delaying penalties for these Zero-Emission Vehicle Goals, blaming insufficient charging infrastructure. The real culprit? A large portion of Maryland's public chargers are utility-owned and routinely broken — mocking the drivers who rely on them and the ratepayers who funded them. Since 2019, the Maryland Public Service Commission has let utilities like BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power, Potomac Edison and SMECO operate public EV chargers in a pilot program now nearing its end. BGE alone spent $15 million installing chargers at libraries, parks and government buildings. The utilities vowed these stations would match the reliability of their electric grid. Instead, they've delivered a charging disaster. Now, they want four more years — and more ratepayer cash — to keep it limping along. Maryland Matters welcomes guest commentary submissions at editor@ We suggest a 750-word limit and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions. We do not accept columns that are endorsements of candidates, and no longer accept submissions from elected officials or political candidates. Opinion pieces must be signed by at least one individual using their real name. We do not accept columns signed by an organization. Commentary writers must include a short bio and a photo for their bylines. Views of writers are their own. The utilities' pitch in 2018 was simple: Give us millions, and we'll build a dependable electric vehicle network. But drivers know the truth: These chargers are often down. Worse, utilities outsourced most operations to third-party contractors. When a charger fails, EV drivers don't call BGE for a quick fix — they're stuck dialing a 'network provider,' where complaints vanish into a virtual black hole, sometimes taking months to resolve. This isn't service; it's abandonment. In 2023, the General Assembly demanded accountability, passing House Bill 834, the Electric Vehicle Charging Reliability Act, requiring 97% uptime, backed by quarterly reports and penalties for failure. Two years on, the Public Service Commission has yet to see those reports. Drivers, meanwhile, feel reliability worsening. Moore's executive order, citing the very infrastructure utilities failed to deliver, only deepens the distrust — easing pressure on automakers instead of fixing the public charging networks. Fed up, I joined 12 other Maryland EV drivers to survey every fast charger statewide. Our Maryland Fast Charger Survey visited 304 locations, testing over 1,000 ports. Tesla, running more than half of Maryland's fast chargers, delivered 99.6% availability — 541 of 543 ports worked. BGE? A measly 33% (30 of 90 chargers operational). Delmarva Power's Eastern Shore network was the worst at 31% (4 of 13). These aren't chargers; They're proof utilities can't deliver. Now, utilities propose bigger budgets for a second phase of the pilot program, funneling more money to contractors for obsolete chargers. Unlike Tesla's stations—built near 24-hour stores with 8 to 16 plugs pumping up to 325 kW—most utility chargers are stuck at 50 kW, often with just one or two ports. They're not at vibrant hubs but in desolate corners of parking lots, like behind state office buildings. Why pour millions into slow, outdated chargers nobody wants to use? Moore's order admits the infrastructure isn't ready, but after six years, that's no excuse — it's a failure of leadership. Utilities have had time and money to build a network that works. Instead, they've squandered trust and dollars. The Public Service Commission must end this failed experiment, redirect funds to proven models like supporting commercial charger programs, and demand Moore recommit to Zero-Emission Vehicle Goals with infrastructure that delivers. Marylanders deserve better than broken chargers and weak promises. It's time to pull the plug.
